College and Career Readiness
College Preparation
College prep can begin as soon as you are ready. Your mentor or counselor will help you choose the right courses based on your goals and interests. They'll even be there when it's time to apply for college. Together you can create a college wish list, target specific schools, review their admissions policies and even look into options for financial aid.
We are among Wisconsin's best schools. So you'll graduate with a diploma that can take you anywhere: Wisconsin state universities, private institutions, leading technical and vocational programs, and Ivy League colleges throughout the nation.
THE FOUR KEYS TO COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS
Based on extensive research, Dr. David T. Conley and his colleagues at the Educational Policy Improvement Center developed an operational definition of college and career readiness that goes beyond course titles, grades, and test scores1. This model, termed the Four Keys of College and Career Readiness, includes: Key Cognitive Strategies, Key Content Knowledge, Key Learning Skills and Techniques, and Key Transition Knowledge and Skills.
WHAT IS COLLEGE-AND-CAREER READINESS?
Career readiness is the process of preparing students of any age with the essential skills they need to find, acquire, maintain, and grow within a job, as defined by Applied Educational Skills.
Career readiness includes such important topics as
- communication
- critical thinking
- emotional intelligence
- financial literacy
- time management
- stress management
Preparing students for life after school also includes both in-class instruction and apprenticeships, internships, externships, and co-ops, which encourage students to put their newly acquired skills to practice and even pick up new real-world skills they can’t necessarily acquire from inside a classroom.
Career readiness education is critical in schools because it prepares students for life after college as they begin their careers, equipping them with the skills necessary to navigate the workforce. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, career readiness skills, or what they refer to as transferable or employability skills, “provide students with a competitive edge during interviews and internships for current and future careers” and “can differentiate a good employee from a great one.” These critical skills, not often made a priority in schools, give students the edge they need to land jobs.